A&E: Behind the Scene, March 24

Mar. 21, 2013

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Iowa native leads search for stolen art

The biggest art heist of all time — and an Iowan — were in the news again this week. The FBI announced Monday that it had finally identified the two thieves who stole $500 million worth of artwork from a Boston art museum back in 1990.

The agency also launched a publicity campaign to find the 13 missing works from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where West Liberty native and University of Iowa grad Anne Hawley serves as the director.

The theft took place 23 years ago in the early hours of St. Patrick’s Day. Thieves posing as police officers showed up at the museum and said they were responding to a call. The guard let them in through the security door — and was promptly handcuffed by the fake cops. He and another guard were taken to the basement, where they were wrapped in duct tape while the thieves made away with works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Degas.

The museum is offering a $5 million reward if the artwork is recovered.

Borlaug: scientist, humanitarian - and secret weapon?

The sculptor commissioned to create a bronze statue of Norman Borlaug for the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall is working on the project through the end of the week at the State Historical Museum. So far, there are no plans for a second casting if supporters want a duplicate for the Iowa State Capitol or, say, the National Collegiate Athletic Association in Indianapolis.

World Food Prize President Kenneth Quinn was only half-kidding.

“Dr. Borlaug was a wrestler. He’s in the NCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame. And you know, they’re looking for a savior to keep wrestling in the Olympics. Will all due respect to Dan Gable and the others, the guy who has the best chance to do it might be Norman Borlaug,” he said.